Yet the dichotomy was not complete. Where Russia ruled directly,
it employed local notables and kept some traditional practices. Where
khans ruled, their authority even in internal matters was subject to
limits imposed by the Russian authorities. Moreover, rule by khans
was gradually supplanted by direct rule. When khans remained in
power, they did so as functionaries of the Russian government, with
Russian titles and modest salaries. An example was Mahdi Qoli Khan
of Qarabagh, who was named a major-general and given the salary
appropriate to that rank. The salaries must have been important to
the khans, considering the loss of revenue because of war-related dis-
ruptions. The khans' financial ties to Russia were both a symptom of
and a reaction to the extent of Russian involvement in the khanates'
internal affairs, as for example in Shirvan, where the lucrative fishing
concession was transferred from the jurisdiction of the khan to that
of the Russian treasury. In at least one case, Russian authorities in-
tervened to reorganize taxation of the peasantry. This occurred in
Qarabagh, which had fallen into arrears in its tribute payment. The
Russians attributed this to the insufficient loyalty of the ruling fami-
ly and other notable landlords and sent an official to draw up the
new tax rolls. Although the traditional legal system continued to
function, Russian authorities barred the khans from imposing the
death penalty or downgrading a notable's social status since these
powers conflicted with Russian law. Of course, the Russian military
presence was a constant reminder that the khans retained their au-
tonomy on Russian sufference. In any event, indirect rule ceased to
exist by the 1820s. In Shakki, the khan's son had been allowed to
succeed to power after his father's death, but, when the son died in
1819, the khanate was brought under direct rule. In the other two
cases, annexation was a reaction to the khans' flight to Iran (Mos-
tafa of Shirvan fled in 1820; Mahdi Qoli of Qarabagh, in 1822.) Rus-
sian officials later acknowledged that Mahdi Qoli had been driven out
by the machinations of the commandant, General Madatov, but the
khan was not reinstated. Both fugitives obtained Russian permission
to return during the early 1830s, and they received government pen-
sions. (In Talesh, local autonomy was ended during the second war.)^1
Russian direct rule was a variable mixture of local and Russian tra-
ditions that were not systematized until the 1840s. All the former
khanates—except Ganjeh (Elizavetpol'), which was turned into a dis-
trict of Georgia—were converted to provinces; and all were governed
by military officers who had broad executive powers. Many local
notables were appointed to fill a wide variety of subordinate positions
from executive counselor to district or village chief. The comman-
146 The Consequences of the Struggle